- 8 -
Lance, Paran, Misty, and Fox all looked at each other, then at Ash. "Well...ah...look on the bright side? You look nice?" Misty said.
Ash turned to look at Misty, her glare enough to kill an army full of Masters. "That's not funny."
"Well, you could always use this to your advantage, I guess." Paran suggested, "You'd be able to get past the League Masters very easily, without even doing anything."
"How so?" May asked. Paran smiled.
"Well, they'll be too busy picking their jaws up off the floor to stop Ash!"
"I could do that," Ash said, silencing the others. They stared in shock, eyes wide. "What?"
"You know what is so scary about this? My husband isn't so much my 'husband' right now," May said, "Ash, if you do anything this stupid again, I will slaughter you."
Ash looked at her, frowning. "I never get a break," she sighed.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
"Now, we need something that will subtly catch there eye..." Misty mused, looking through the closet. Paran laughed.
"How about just scratch the 'subtly' part? Come on, with those League men, you need to be almost too obvious!"
"Can't I just wear what I'd normally wear?" Ash asked. May looked at her.
"Have you NOT noticed, the fact that your present clothes FALL off you?"
"Point taken." Misty took out a black and red dress. The top was black, while the skirt was red. May looked at it.
"Would it even fit?" she asked, looking at Ash.
"Only one way to find out!" Paran replied, grinning, "Ash, strip."
"What?!" May rolled her eyes.
"Just *stand up*!" Ash carefully stumbled up. The minute she let go of her belt, her much-too-big black pants fell to her ankles, leaving her very much exposed. Blushing a bright red, Ash doubled over, trying to keep covered up. May gathered up the clothes, and helped her over to the bathroom. "Don't fret. Here, just take all of this and go try them on."
Ash slid into the bathroom and shut the door. "Ick. How do you stand wearing this type of stuff?" she asked through the door.
"You get used to it," Misty replied, leaning against the door. Misty quickly stepped away, when Ash opened the door. "That's quite a nice outfit for you actually."
She looked at herself in the mirror. The skirt went almost halfway down her thighs. The dress matched the black and red striped knee socks and black, the black fingerless gloves, and the black boots. To give contract to all the black, were several silver bracelets and necklaces. "How do you like it?" May asked.
"I'd rather my normal clothes, thanks," Ash said, looking sullenly at them, "and my NORMAL BODY too. This is just too much."
"Well, get over it," Paran said, "Let's go see what Lance and Fox think."
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
"You know what?" Lance said, "My sister would've died- and she did- for that kind of body."
"Oh, that makes me feel much better." Ash stared avidly at the ceiling. "I hate life."
"Oh, don't be so pessimistic!" Paran said, "I have a plan for getting into the League's defenses..."
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
"What IS this place?" Ash asked, staring at the rusted windowsill, the glass covered in dirt and dust.
"You'll see," Misty replied, following Paran inside. Ash, biting her lip, stepped in. A large handful of the people at the tables had the all- to-familiar League cloaks on, the color of their elements dimmed by the dusty air. Some of them turned in their seats to look at them, before glancing at the others who had ignored the entrance and pointed them out.
"What can I get you?" the man behind the counter asked.
"What do you all want?" Lance said. Ash shook her head, sitting down at one of the few empty tables. May, Paran, and Misty all sat down also, along with Fox.
"They're looking at me," Ash said, rocking back and forth. May shook her head.
"You're just being paranoid," she replied, pushing a bead across the tabletop. Ash frowned. May, sighing, looked around at the other occupants of the room. A large portion of the League Masters were actually turned in their seats, staring in their direction. "No wonder!...You're right."
"Hello." Ash jumped, and looked up at one of the League Masters, who had walked up behind them. "What is your name?"
"Oh, uh...Nelly."
"Well, Nelly, would you mind if I sat with you?" Ash looked at May, eyes widened in shock.
"Sure, you can sit with us," Paran said. The Master pulled a chair over, sitting next to the slightly startled Shadow Master.
"The name's Urchin," he said. Ash looked at Urchin, suddenly noticing the color of his cloak-blue.
"You're a water Master," she blurted out. Urchin nodded, and smiled.
"Yes I am. And what element are you?" he asked.
"Sha-" Ash winced, when May kicked her under the table. "-electric."
"Ah, electric. Are you part of the Rebellion? Because, I don't think I've seen you around the League HQ...?" Urchin asked.
"No, no, neither. I stay out of all that," Ash replied, picking at the bracelets, "I've always wondered what happened there though."
"In the League? I could show you sometime-I'm sure no one would mind it, since you aren't part of the Rebellion."
"I'd LOVE it if you would." Ash secretly rolled her eyes, giving May a very ticked off look.
"How about tomorrow?" Urchin asked. Ash nodded, giving him a fake smile. "Alright then! Meet here, all right?"
"Right," Ash said. Urchin smiled, and stood up.
"I must be going, or they'll grind me into powder for being late." Urchin said his good-byes, before hurrying out.
"That was too easy," Ash said, letting the smile slide off into a frown, "He seemed more then happy to offer...something is up."
May looked at him, before responding. "I don't think it is such a good idea to be trying to get into the League right now," she said.
"Why is that?" Misty asked.
"Think about it. The League would do anything to get Ash, then this happens. THEN, a League Master happens to offer, without a thought, to let Ash walk right into the League HQ without evening knowing whether it was safe or not?"
"True...that does sound suspicious," Lance replied, "unusually so. No Master would do such a thing, if they knew what was good for them. I think you should lay low until your back to normal Ash. Stay out of the League's way until then, because they'll use this to their advantage."
Ash stood up, pushing the chair in. "This is not the place to be discussing this," Ash said softly, looking at the various League Masters watching them, "Not with all of them keeping such a close watch on us."
"That's right...let's get out of here."
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
"ASH! You had just said-" they yelled. Turning and looking at the shocked group, Ash pulled on her black boots quickly.
"I know what I said, but I need to at least try. If anything happens, I'll have Pikachu with me." Ash stood up, and went to the door. "Heh, you never know, maybe he wasn't lying..."
Pikachu trotted behind Ash, as the quiet Shadow Master walked along the path leading to town. The bar was just on the outskirts of it, but was in the very bad area.
Ash looked around, before continuing, the uneasy feeling growing. There were normally at least a few people wondering about...
"Hello, Ashura." Urchin walked toward Ash, his smile widening.
"What? Who?" Ash tried to fake surprise, widening her eyes.
"Don't give me the 'Who is that?' line! We know who you are, for we are the ones who caused this sudden change. Now, tell me, how could you of been so stupid as to come alone? Knowing, possibly, that this was all a trap?" Urchin asked.
"I'm not as stupid as you think I am." Ash stepped back, as dozens of League Masters and trainers appeared around them, glaring. Pikachu jumped in front of Ash, snarling, cheeks sparking with black electricity. "And I'm not quite as alone as you think."
Ash stepped back again, when they started advancing on Pikachu and her. Pikachu shifted into the Shadow Blade, Ash gripping the hilt tightly. When a few of the Masters got too close, she sliced them in two.
More and more of the Masters started advancing, surrounding Ash. Almost in a panic, Ash kept dicing at the Masters blindly, tears stinging in her eyes. The Masters gasped, and backed off. Ash had started glowing a blue- black, tha aura flaring magnificently, barely touching them, burning them.
Eyes glowing gold, Ash advanced on the frightened League, wings unfurling from her back. Handfuls of the men ran, not looking back. He others, either out of stupidity or courage, stayed put, holding their respective weapons. Ash's eyes flashed red-blood red.
"You're going to regret staying," Ash said, a bolt of shadow crashing down right in the middle of the group. The explosion caused killed the ones not directly hit in the first place.
Urchin was the only one left. Ash looked at him, glaring daggers. "Still holding strong?" Urchin said, clapping mockingly, "Impressive. Most of the League thought at the change of gender would weaken your power a considerable amount...?"
"It has." Ash turned to go back the way she came. "Oh, and before I forget to..."
Urchin screamed, when Ash twisted around, and threw the sword right through his chest.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
It was only days afterwards. Ash was curled up lazily on the couch, a book propped up in the crook of her arm, eyes darting from word to word with the same speed as when she was in a battle.
Koga and Aya had been called, and where working on making a counter to whatever had caused such a drastic change. Until then, Ash had been told (very sternly) by May to stay put and not go looking for trouble, since the trap set by the League had nearly got Ash caught by them. Ash had tried to explain that trouble found HER, not the other way around, without success.
Thanks to the order, Ash was stuck in the house, reading book after book. Most of them were not something she was interested in, but it was better then doing nothing at all. Aya walked in, a smile on her face. "Ash, we might have found a way to get you back to the way you should be."
Dropping the book, Ash jumped up. "WHAT IS IT?!?!?!"
"Calm down. We need you to drink this..." Aya gave him a glass full of an emerald colored liquid. Ash, all to eager for normalcy, gulped the whole glassful down. "Now, we have to wait and see, until it gives some indication of affect."
She quickly disappeared back into the kitchen. Ash, finally unable to sit still any longer, walked out the door, into the warm yard. Quickly scanning the area, she bolted into the trees.
Ash easily found the waterfall, staring up at it. Smiling, she jumped in.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Pikachu, getting worried, searched the house, along with Lucia. "Pikaaaachu?"
Lucia, looking at the various photos that covered the tables, suddenly went to the door, and out of the pokemon door, along with Pikachu. They sprinted through the forest, and squeezed into the cavern tunnel.
"Pika!" Lucia squealed, sliding to a stop at the edge of the water. She sniffed at the water and sand, before diving in. Pikachu sped past Lucia, rocketing up behind the waterfall.
The darkness of the cave didn't stop Pikachu from finding his Master, curled up tightly in a ball near the staircase. "Pikachu...'elp."
"Pika!" Ash looked at the black mouse pokemon, frowning.
"Go get May or Aya or someone, please! I think whatever Koga and Aya made is working, and I can't move...eh...it hurts..." Ash doubled over, her teeth grinding together.
Pikachu nodded, and dove back into the water.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
I managed to grind out another chapter! ^^;; Feel free to applaud me -silence- eh heh heh heh, no? ok then, onto reviews:
Dragoon knight-Yes, the League did it, obviously
DJ Rodriguez- You're making me blush here =^.^=
ejqHorseLady- IT is VERY odd. His being a girl was SUPPOSE to last longer, but I decided to not torture him or myself any longer o.O
Lance, Paran, Misty, and Fox all looked at each other, then at Ash. "Well...ah...look on the bright side? You look nice?" Misty said.
Ash turned to look at Misty, her glare enough to kill an army full of Masters. "That's not funny."
"Well, you could always use this to your advantage, I guess." Paran suggested, "You'd be able to get past the League Masters very easily, without even doing anything."
"How so?" May asked. Paran smiled.
"Well, they'll be too busy picking their jaws up off the floor to stop Ash!"
"I could do that," Ash said, silencing the others. They stared in shock, eyes wide. "What?"
"You know what is so scary about this? My husband isn't so much my 'husband' right now," May said, "Ash, if you do anything this stupid again, I will slaughter you."
Ash looked at her, frowning. "I never get a break," she sighed.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
"Now, we need something that will subtly catch there eye..." Misty mused, looking through the closet. Paran laughed.
"How about just scratch the 'subtly' part? Come on, with those League men, you need to be almost too obvious!"
"Can't I just wear what I'd normally wear?" Ash asked. May looked at her.
"Have you NOT noticed, the fact that your present clothes FALL off you?"
"Point taken." Misty took out a black and red dress. The top was black, while the skirt was red. May looked at it.
"Would it even fit?" she asked, looking at Ash.
"Only one way to find out!" Paran replied, grinning, "Ash, strip."
"What?!" May rolled her eyes.
"Just *stand up*!" Ash carefully stumbled up. The minute she let go of her belt, her much-too-big black pants fell to her ankles, leaving her very much exposed. Blushing a bright red, Ash doubled over, trying to keep covered up. May gathered up the clothes, and helped her over to the bathroom. "Don't fret. Here, just take all of this and go try them on."
Ash slid into the bathroom and shut the door. "Ick. How do you stand wearing this type of stuff?" she asked through the door.
"You get used to it," Misty replied, leaning against the door. Misty quickly stepped away, when Ash opened the door. "That's quite a nice outfit for you actually."
She looked at herself in the mirror. The skirt went almost halfway down her thighs. The dress matched the black and red striped knee socks and black, the black fingerless gloves, and the black boots. To give contract to all the black, were several silver bracelets and necklaces. "How do you like it?" May asked.
"I'd rather my normal clothes, thanks," Ash said, looking sullenly at them, "and my NORMAL BODY too. This is just too much."
"Well, get over it," Paran said, "Let's go see what Lance and Fox think."
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
"You know what?" Lance said, "My sister would've died- and she did- for that kind of body."
"Oh, that makes me feel much better." Ash stared avidly at the ceiling. "I hate life."
"Oh, don't be so pessimistic!" Paran said, "I have a plan for getting into the League's defenses..."
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
"What IS this place?" Ash asked, staring at the rusted windowsill, the glass covered in dirt and dust.
"You'll see," Misty replied, following Paran inside. Ash, biting her lip, stepped in. A large handful of the people at the tables had the all- to-familiar League cloaks on, the color of their elements dimmed by the dusty air. Some of them turned in their seats to look at them, before glancing at the others who had ignored the entrance and pointed them out.
"What can I get you?" the man behind the counter asked.
"What do you all want?" Lance said. Ash shook her head, sitting down at one of the few empty tables. May, Paran, and Misty all sat down also, along with Fox.
"They're looking at me," Ash said, rocking back and forth. May shook her head.
"You're just being paranoid," she replied, pushing a bead across the tabletop. Ash frowned. May, sighing, looked around at the other occupants of the room. A large portion of the League Masters were actually turned in their seats, staring in their direction. "No wonder!...You're right."
"Hello." Ash jumped, and looked up at one of the League Masters, who had walked up behind them. "What is your name?"
"Oh, uh...Nelly."
"Well, Nelly, would you mind if I sat with you?" Ash looked at May, eyes widened in shock.
"Sure, you can sit with us," Paran said. The Master pulled a chair over, sitting next to the slightly startled Shadow Master.
"The name's Urchin," he said. Ash looked at Urchin, suddenly noticing the color of his cloak-blue.
"You're a water Master," she blurted out. Urchin nodded, and smiled.
"Yes I am. And what element are you?" he asked.
"Sha-" Ash winced, when May kicked her under the table. "-electric."
"Ah, electric. Are you part of the Rebellion? Because, I don't think I've seen you around the League HQ...?" Urchin asked.
"No, no, neither. I stay out of all that," Ash replied, picking at the bracelets, "I've always wondered what happened there though."
"In the League? I could show you sometime-I'm sure no one would mind it, since you aren't part of the Rebellion."
"I'd LOVE it if you would." Ash secretly rolled her eyes, giving May a very ticked off look.
"How about tomorrow?" Urchin asked. Ash nodded, giving him a fake smile. "Alright then! Meet here, all right?"
"Right," Ash said. Urchin smiled, and stood up.
"I must be going, or they'll grind me into powder for being late." Urchin said his good-byes, before hurrying out.
"That was too easy," Ash said, letting the smile slide off into a frown, "He seemed more then happy to offer...something is up."
May looked at him, before responding. "I don't think it is such a good idea to be trying to get into the League right now," she said.
"Why is that?" Misty asked.
"Think about it. The League would do anything to get Ash, then this happens. THEN, a League Master happens to offer, without a thought, to let Ash walk right into the League HQ without evening knowing whether it was safe or not?"
"True...that does sound suspicious," Lance replied, "unusually so. No Master would do such a thing, if they knew what was good for them. I think you should lay low until your back to normal Ash. Stay out of the League's way until then, because they'll use this to their advantage."
Ash stood up, pushing the chair in. "This is not the place to be discussing this," Ash said softly, looking at the various League Masters watching them, "Not with all of them keeping such a close watch on us."
"That's right...let's get out of here."
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
"ASH! You had just said-" they yelled. Turning and looking at the shocked group, Ash pulled on her black boots quickly.
"I know what I said, but I need to at least try. If anything happens, I'll have Pikachu with me." Ash stood up, and went to the door. "Heh, you never know, maybe he wasn't lying..."
Pikachu trotted behind Ash, as the quiet Shadow Master walked along the path leading to town. The bar was just on the outskirts of it, but was in the very bad area.
Ash looked around, before continuing, the uneasy feeling growing. There were normally at least a few people wondering about...
"Hello, Ashura." Urchin walked toward Ash, his smile widening.
"What? Who?" Ash tried to fake surprise, widening her eyes.
"Don't give me the 'Who is that?' line! We know who you are, for we are the ones who caused this sudden change. Now, tell me, how could you of been so stupid as to come alone? Knowing, possibly, that this was all a trap?" Urchin asked.
"I'm not as stupid as you think I am." Ash stepped back, as dozens of League Masters and trainers appeared around them, glaring. Pikachu jumped in front of Ash, snarling, cheeks sparking with black electricity. "And I'm not quite as alone as you think."
Ash stepped back again, when they started advancing on Pikachu and her. Pikachu shifted into the Shadow Blade, Ash gripping the hilt tightly. When a few of the Masters got too close, she sliced them in two.
More and more of the Masters started advancing, surrounding Ash. Almost in a panic, Ash kept dicing at the Masters blindly, tears stinging in her eyes. The Masters gasped, and backed off. Ash had started glowing a blue- black, tha aura flaring magnificently, barely touching them, burning them.
Eyes glowing gold, Ash advanced on the frightened League, wings unfurling from her back. Handfuls of the men ran, not looking back. He others, either out of stupidity or courage, stayed put, holding their respective weapons. Ash's eyes flashed red-blood red.
"You're going to regret staying," Ash said, a bolt of shadow crashing down right in the middle of the group. The explosion caused killed the ones not directly hit in the first place.
Urchin was the only one left. Ash looked at him, glaring daggers. "Still holding strong?" Urchin said, clapping mockingly, "Impressive. Most of the League thought at the change of gender would weaken your power a considerable amount...?"
"It has." Ash turned to go back the way she came. "Oh, and before I forget to..."
Urchin screamed, when Ash twisted around, and threw the sword right through his chest.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
It was only days afterwards. Ash was curled up lazily on the couch, a book propped up in the crook of her arm, eyes darting from word to word with the same speed as when she was in a battle.
Koga and Aya had been called, and where working on making a counter to whatever had caused such a drastic change. Until then, Ash had been told (very sternly) by May to stay put and not go looking for trouble, since the trap set by the League had nearly got Ash caught by them. Ash had tried to explain that trouble found HER, not the other way around, without success.
Thanks to the order, Ash was stuck in the house, reading book after book. Most of them were not something she was interested in, but it was better then doing nothing at all. Aya walked in, a smile on her face. "Ash, we might have found a way to get you back to the way you should be."
Dropping the book, Ash jumped up. "WHAT IS IT?!?!?!"
"Calm down. We need you to drink this..." Aya gave him a glass full of an emerald colored liquid. Ash, all to eager for normalcy, gulped the whole glassful down. "Now, we have to wait and see, until it gives some indication of affect."
She quickly disappeared back into the kitchen. Ash, finally unable to sit still any longer, walked out the door, into the warm yard. Quickly scanning the area, she bolted into the trees.
Ash easily found the waterfall, staring up at it. Smiling, she jumped in.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Pikachu, getting worried, searched the house, along with Lucia. "Pikaaaachu?"
Lucia, looking at the various photos that covered the tables, suddenly went to the door, and out of the pokemon door, along with Pikachu. They sprinted through the forest, and squeezed into the cavern tunnel.
"Pika!" Lucia squealed, sliding to a stop at the edge of the water. She sniffed at the water and sand, before diving in. Pikachu sped past Lucia, rocketing up behind the waterfall.
The darkness of the cave didn't stop Pikachu from finding his Master, curled up tightly in a ball near the staircase. "Pikachu...'elp."
"Pika!" Ash looked at the black mouse pokemon, frowning.
"Go get May or Aya or someone, please! I think whatever Koga and Aya made is working, and I can't move...eh...it hurts..." Ash doubled over, her teeth grinding together.
Pikachu nodded, and dove back into the water.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
I managed to grind out another chapter! ^^;; Feel free to applaud me -silence- eh heh heh heh, no? ok then, onto reviews:
Dragoon knight-Yes, the League did it, obviously
DJ Rodriguez- You're making me blush here =^.^=
ejqHorseLady- IT is VERY odd. His being a girl was SUPPOSE to last longer, but I decided to not torture him or myself any longer o.O